My radio, CD changer and clock work, but I can BARELY see the numbers on the panel. Nothing lights up. It's like the brightness is turned down all the way. Any suggestions? Thank you

Jeff

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Turn up interior dimmer!!!! Dam, why didn't I think of that. I knew you were a bright guy when you asked me if I wanted my lunch "supersized"!!!! I'll let you know if it worked!!!!

all i can say is either check the fusebox for a blown fuse or maybe ur bulb burnt out..if not good luck!

Yo Jeff did you ever check out your switch like some one suggested to see if that was your problem..Just curious!

Later
WheelBrokerAng

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yea wheels' rite..check so see if your dimmer swich could have lost its contacts...could be what the problem is...have had numerous hondas come in with that problem! just didnt think of it at the time....wtg wheel!

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guys
it also could be the front display cover. it might loosen up and dust could'v dimmed the display.

Or if You go to fix it color your bulb with a sharpie repeatedly like someone on the hcf said and you will have a tight looking light. Make it like green or blue. IT willl be the ish.

I have the same problem as the rest of you I am going to call American Honda as some one recommended. This is very upsetting because I HAVE ALWAYS OWNED HONDAS AND THIS TYPE OF THING HAS NEVER HAPPENED. Between this and the scare of the transmission recall I will think twice in buying another Honda. Does any one have a copy of the SERVICE BULLETIN FOR THIS PROBLEM?

Me too. Dealer was going to talk to District Manager to see if Honda would at least help. We own 3 Hondas. $600 for the radio plus labor if I have to pay for it.

Renee check out http://www.car-groups.com/board/nextpost/29523/0 4 or 5 people got their repairs paid for.

I called American Honda (Main headquarters) and they covered my Radio without any problem you will have to take it to a dealer and American Honda will call them to ok the repair. CALL AMERICAN HONDA 1ST TO MAKE A CLAIM AND HAVE YOUR VIN NUMBER READY 1-800-999-1009
I have 63000 miles and no warranty that expired at 36000 miles. thanks to this chat room and other web sites I would have never realized what an expensive repair this would have been,I didnt even have to pay a penny my dealership had the radio there to replace. The transaction went so smooth I couldnt beleive it. Dont talk to the dealership first, One guy told me if he would charge me $99 to look at it and I would be lucky to get it covered since I have so many miles and he didnt consider me a loyal Honda customer since I get my oil changed at the car wash instead of Honda.Even though I did all my other maintenance,brakes tansmision seviced at Honda. I went to another dealership and he said bring your car in, we will take care of you North Hollywood Honda was great and never mentioned anything about being a LOYAL HONDA Customer. GOOD LUCK! RENEE

Thanks Renee! I took my 2003 Accord EX in to the dealer for this radio display problem. I leased this vehicle for 4 years, with 15,000/yr mileage. The radio display went out after 34 months, but the mileage was 40,000. So, according to COGGIN HONDA IN FORT PIERCE, FLORIDA (hint, hint), I have to have it repaired at my expense sometime prior to returning the vehicle next November. I will be contacting Honda tomorrow to begin my search for justice. I hope my situation turns out as well as yours.

Update ------ My 2003 Honda Accord EX now has 44,000 miles on it. I have 12 more months left on a 48-month lease. My radio display went out a couple months ago. The Honda dealer in Fort Pierce, Florida (hint, hint) told me that I would have to pay $1200 to have it replaced. The message posted by Renee steered me to contact American Honda. Just follow her advice precisely. It took a couple weeks for this lousy dealer (hint, hint) to get the information to American Honda, but finally today I received my answer. I was told that Honda is definitely aware of the problem with the 2003 radio display, and will replace the whole unit for free. No recall was issued. I feel sorry for all the people who paid big bucks to have the unit replaced.

I just had the same problem with my radio/climate controls...worked great and then bam!...no worky....I am 500 miles from home and found the dealer in wichita, ks...they are going to overnight the radio from arkansas, put it in, and even put in my silverstar 9006's, and they called enterprise rentals for me...and honda pays for it all....did i just get lucky or what? I have a 2003 accord ex v6 6 speed... service guy said that was the second one that he has ever seen....and yes...this car will get up and go....good luck

Hey, I've got the same problem, NO Display backlight on the radio on my 2003 Accord EX,
I plan to take to the dealer, sounds like they know about this problem and should replace free of charge.

I had the same problem. The Sarasota Fl Honda dealer quoted me a price of $1074 + tax to replace the radio. (60,000 miles)
out of warranty. Called the 1-800 number that Renee suggested and was given a "case number". Evidently Honda loyalty
is a determining factor, I told the case manager about the 3 Civics, two Acuras and 8 Honda motorcycles I had purchased new,
before buying my 2003 Accord EX. Honda eventually authorized a replacement radio, but I will have to pay $79 for
installation. The appointment is for tomorrow afternoon, 02/03/06. Does anyone know if the replacement radio is warranted ?
I plan on asking the dealer that question and will post his response.

If they are treating it like its a new one and give you a receipt for the radio i would assume that there is a warrenty for a few years. But if there if there isnt its subject to the warrenty of the car... and 1000 dollars seems pretty steep of a price, does it have built in navigation? or cappuccino maker?

ORIGINAL: MR66CADY

Hi Jeff247,

I recently had the same problem with my 2003 Accord Coupe EX and went through the whole fuse panel trying to figure out what was wrong. When I brought it in for it's last service appointment low and behold there was a "Service Bulletin" (#04-027 Audio-HVAC Module is Dim or Dark) for this very problem. The bulletin is dated 7/9/04. Let me know if you'd like a copy and I can scan it and send it to you.

The solution to the problem is to replace the Audio unit. This was free of charge as a warrantee fix. Take your car back to your dealer and ask them about it.

Hope this helps
MR66CADY



Thank you. I will check the dealer. I have a 2003 Accord EX 4cyl with 105,000. This has been my only problem. I imagine my dealer will want to screw me, but I will ask anyhow. Thanks again!!!

Update - Unit was replaced with a "refurbished" one, for a labor charge of $84. Dealer indicated that it has a 12 month/12,000
mile warranty. Honda of America did confirm that fact although I don't have anything in writing, besides my receipt. As other posts
note, dealers don't tell their customers, that Honda of America is paying for out of warranty replacements, under their
"Goodwill" program. Has anyone out there EVER have a Honda dealer tell them about the replacement policy ?

Hi,

I'm so glad I found this forum. I have the same issue - everything works then suddenly no control of the a/c and no lights on the radio console. I took it to my neighborhood auto shop (VERY honest and good mechanic) who told me it was the module, that the part was $600, that it's a recurring problem, that he'd already called the nearest dealership to try to get them to fix it and they said nope - out of warranty. I have 43,000 miles on the car. I told him to hold on, did some Google work and found this forum. I called American Honda, got a case number, took it to a Honda dealership for diagnostics. They are now waiting to hear back from HA about fixing it.

While waiting around I strolled the showroom and ended up driving a Civic Hybrid. The seats were very uncomfortabe for me - pushed my head forward no matter what I did with the head rest. They are willing to make me a good deal on a new Accord - not as decked out as my current one, but my lease is up in December and I'm going to have to either release or pay a termination fee of $400 and then go out and buy a new car with nothing to trade. The new Accord is a V4 - my old one is V6. Frankly, it didn't seem to drive all that differently - maybe just slightly slower on the pickup but not noticeably so. The gas mileage would be better.
Any comments? advice?

DL,

Have you heard back from the case manager ? My advice is that you should try to keep your Accord. @62,000 on our 03 4 cyl EX
there have been no other problems besides the radio. Good luck !!

Goldwing

unfortunately mine just went out on my 03 accord at 63k miles.[:@] I took it to the dealer before I discovered this forum and they told me that I am past the warranty and american honda denied has their request to have it replaced. After reading this forum, I'm beginning to wonder if they even tried to make a request for replacement or they're just "leaving me hanging."[X(] I guess I will have to call American Honda and make a claim for myself, tomorrow. If anyone else has any other suggestions, it is much appreciated...:D until then, i guess I'll be in the dark,...literally.[>:]

Mine just went dim as well a few days ago in my 2003 Accord EX Coupe& at approx 38K miles. I read this forum first before calling, then called the 800 number for Honda. The guy there told me that b/c it is such a common problem that I dont even need a case number & that I should just go to the dealership for them to fix it. I told him I was concerned about being charged b/c it is out of warranty, he said they will not charge me anything at all. He didnt ask or know what dealership I was going to but only askedhow many miles it had on it. I called my local dealership (Autoway Honda), asked them about fixing it out of warranty & at no charge. They told me that b/c it was just over warranty & b/cI got the person's name at the 800 number who said I wont get charged, that they would not charge me anything at all to fix it. I just went by there & they wrote down the 4 digit # from my radio & they are overnighting my new radio so that I can have it put in tomorrow.

Me too - 2003 Accord EX-L 4dr 35,000 miles but out of warranty by 9 months. 3rd Accord in the household and all regularly serviced at the dealer so should go smoothly I hope......

I am also having the same problem with my radio/ dim lights. I purchased my car used. I have had it for about 6 months. I have called Honda and they have given me a case number and the number to a local Honda dealer. I have contacted the local dealer and they seem to be aware of the problem and they advised me to bring the vehicle in and they would order the stereo. I did telldealership that I have 48,000 miles on my vehicle. He did not seem to think any of this was a problem. I will update on how this turns out.Hopefully I will not have to pay much if anything out of pocket.. This is my first Honda, are there any other problems with the 2003 Honda Accord V6 EX ?

Welcome to the Forum pam. There are no other issues that I can think of on the 03 accords they seem to be great cars, just crappy stereo *L* Let us know how that turns out

Hey guys. I have the same problem.Radio dark. center controls dark.But everything works. Good news . I just got off the phone with the dealership today, 1-23-07, and he told me that Honda knows about the problem and what they juststarted doing is extending the warranty just for this radio, center control problem. I think he said upto 7 Years and 100,000 miles no cost for 03 and 04 models.Its not a fuse problem. its a circut board thing and they need to replace something inside the chassie.So no worries, they will fix it.Call a dealership and they will tell you all about it.This just started about a week ago he said.

i have a 2004 accord ex.Same problem. im on my 3rd radio already.What they told me was its covered even if my warranty is out because they are aware it was a faulty part and theyve had numerous problems with these radios

i have a 04 ex 6 speed and mine went out months ago... i have 74k miles on it... and this is the biggest problem ive had with it... i LOVE Honda's... i have a 76 gl 1000 in my basement im rebuilding... and i have this 04 accord... i love them both, and it is not like honda to build somthing with a problem and not fix it.... i hope honda is fixing it for free... i will call american honda and see what they say... i hope you guy's are right about them fixing it.... ive had this problem for over 15k miles, and it's really annoying...

it's hard to listen to a radio station when you cant see what station it is... or use climate controll when you cant see where it is blowing... ant the problem is a circut board... it has all the knobs and such on it along with the display... and part of it is faulty... that is why the unit goes dim... the dimmer controllcontrolls the guages and the radio lights at all times on the 03 up models... even with the lights off... try turning it all the way down with the lights off and see what happens...

I had the exact same problem. 2004 accord ex coupe. I called the dealer and they wanted me to pay for the circuit board and installation. They said it was a common problem. I called American Honda (1-800-999-1009)today and they said there is a recall on my radio. They are installing a new radio at no charge!!!! The service bulletin is 04-027. By the way, I'm out of my factory warranty, I have 41,000 miles. This repair is extended to 7 years/100,000 miles. Don't pay to have this problem fixed!!!!!!!!

I previouslyposted the problem I was having with my Stereo(no light/dimmer). I contacted the Honda 800 # listed in previous postings. I called a local dealership and they knew all about the problem and replaced my stereo for no charge. They called it aGood Will replacement. This was in Mid January.

I was very happy with the Dealership in Marietta, GA. I cannot say the same for my first experience with a Dealership in Florida. It is good to know there is a warrantly because when I asked the Dealership they said there wasn't one. It left me to wonder if I was going to have this problem in the future with no recorse. Again, good to know.

Thanks for all the helpful postings with information on how to get replaced. The Florida Dealership wanted to charge me over $1000 to replace.

To all my fellow Canadians who stumble upon this site,[/align]I just ran into the same problem with my '03 Accord V6 Sedan.[/align]The radio backlight died but the radio and all else was functioning normally.[/align][/align]Since I just purchased this vehicle used and it is my very 1st Honda I must say I got quite nervous when the problem occurred.[/align][/align]Then I started researching it on the net, found this site and saw how many others experience the same thing and my mind was put at ease when I also saw that Honda was fixing them even if the 3/60 warranty had expired.[/align][/align]I went to my local Honda dealership in Newmarket, ON. They contacted Honda and effective tomorrow (March 16th, 2007) Honda Canada will be formally extending the warranty on the radio to 5 years / 100,000 kilometres. [/align][/align]My vehicle has less than 50,000km so they will be replacing the radio and all will be fully covered under warranty.[/align][/align]

I finally took my car in to get it checked out. The radio not lighting up is a known problem. Long story short, even though my 2003 Accord is 4 yrs old and had 150,000 miles on it they fixed it at no charge. That was a nice surprise!!! Thanks for all the info.